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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30123264">Constituency of One</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/extasiswings/pseuds/extasiswings'>extasiswings</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Institutional Memory [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Politics, M/M, Marriage Proposal, President Evan "Buck" Buckley, White House AU, prompt collection</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:08:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,217</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30123264</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/extasiswings/pseuds/extasiswings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of random ficlets set in the White House AU.</p>
<p>[Follows <em>Evidence of Things Not Seen</em>.]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Institutional Memory [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2216898</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>78</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Proposal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30031035">Evidence of Things Not Seen</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/extasiswings/pseuds/extasiswings">extasiswings</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I said this wasn't going to become a Thing and I stand by that, but for when I have random ideas that get filled in this universe...well, they'll end up here.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You’re quiet.”</p><p>Eddie shifts up onto one elbow as Buck turns his head to meet his gaze, the faraway look fading from his eyes. </p><p>“Maybe you just wore me out,” Buck jokes, but it’s been nearly a year of dating, nearly two since they met, and Eddie knows how to tell when Buck’s deflecting. </p><p>“I’m sure I did, but that’s not what this is,” Eddie replies. Buck sighs and rolls onto his side, facing away from him, but Eddie wraps his free arm around Buck’s waist and tugs him back in. “Hey. Talk to me.”</p><p>He pauses, then reconsiders—</p><p>“Unless it’s above my security clearance, then I guess you probably shouldn’t.”</p><p>That gets a small laugh and an upward twitch of Buck’s lips. </p><p>“It’s nothing like that,” Buck admits. “It’s just—” </p><p>His lips press together and he goes quiet again, but Eddie knows to just wait it out. And sure enough, after another moment of silence, Buck sighs and sits up, rubbing his hands over his face. </p><p>“Chim made a comment yesterday about me running for re-election,” he says. “About how certain things will be when I do. When. Not if. Like it’s a done deal.”</p><p>“Is it?” Eddie asks. It’s something he’s wondered himself, but he’s tried to avoid going too far down that road in his head when they’re still a fair bit out from really needing to worry about it. Besides which, it’s...not his decision to make. </p><p>Buck’s throat works as he swallows hard. His fingers pick at the sheets. </p><p>“It feels like it,” he replies, and he won’t meet Eddie’s eyes. “It’s not like I’m ever going to really have another job after this and I think I’m too young for that to be my life, so it feels like I should at least try for the full eight years, you know?”</p><p>“But?” Eddie prompts, because he knows that can’t be the end of it, otherwise Buck wouldn’t have been a million miles away in bed. </p><p>“But...” Buck swears under his breath and scrubs at his face again. </p><p>Eddie reaches out, taking one of Buck’s hands and lacing their fingers, only to freeze when Buck blurts out—</p><p>“It’s you.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“It’s—I can’t do this,” Buck says, and it’s only the fact that he grips his hand tighter when he says it that keeps Eddie from rolling away. </p><p>“Can’t do what?” Eddie asks slowly, trying not to jump to the worst possible interpretation of that statement, because even with his own many insecurities, he’s fairly certain Buck wouldn’t try to break up with him while they’re in bed together. </p><p>“This,” Buck says, gesturing around with his free hand. “The—the sneaking around and not being open. Having to snatch secret moments with you. Rarely getting to see Christopher because Athena hates it when I go to your place. I can’t—I don’t want to run for re-election if it means deciding right now that we can’t have any more than this for the next six years, I just don’t.”</p><p>It seems like once he’s started, he can’t stop, because the words keep flowing before Eddie can interrupt. </p><p>“I love you, and I love Christopher, and I understand that you’re concerned about his safety if this is public, and I respect that, I do, but I can’t—god, Eddie, I want to wake up with you every day and go to bed with you at night and not have to worry about one of us having to sneak out in the morning. I want to be able to sit with you at all the boring dinners I have to go to and try and make you laugh. I want to be able to kiss you in public and hold your hand and know you have my back. I want—”</p><p>Buck swallows again and finally looks up to meet Eddie’s gaze again. </p><p>“I want to stop pretending I’m alone.  And I don’t want to sign up for more of this if that’s the tradeoff.”</p><p>Eddie feels like he’s been hit over the head with a frying pan, or like he’s missed several steps on the stairs and only just grabbed the railing to stop from falling flat on his face. He can’t quite seem to make his tongue work. </p><p>Buck seems to take his silence as a bad thing and starts to pull away, but Eddie doesn’t let him. His thoughts are racing almost as fast as his heart, too fast. And maybe that explains why when he does finally open his mouth, what comes out is—</p><p>“Well. I can think of an easy way to fix that.”</p><p>Buck blows out a breath and runs his fingers through his hair. “Oh yeah?”</p><p>Eddie wets his lips. Blood rushes in his ears. </p><p>He doesn’t know exactly what he’s going to say until the second before the words leave his throat, but he finds he doesn’t regret them either.</p><p>It feels good.  It feels right.  </p><p>“Yeah. You could marry me.”</p><p>Buck stares in silence, opening his mouth only to close it.  And again, Eddie waits, internally cursing the fact that this had to be one of his rare moments of impulsivity.</p><p>Not that there’s a problem.  He means it—he’s thought about it plenty of times, even if he and Buck haven’t ever discussed it.  </p><p>He’s thought about a lot of things. </p><p>But, maybe the execution could have been...better.</p><p>“I—”  Buck finally croaks out before closing his mouth again, running a hand over his jaw.  “You—don’t say that, unless you—”</p><p>“I mean it,” Eddie interrupts.  He finally sits up, the sheets pooling around his waist, and leans in.  His free hand curves around the side of Buck’s neck as he stops just before kissing him.  </p><p>“Marry me,” he repeats.  Buck’s eyes fall closed, although he doesn’t try to close the distance.</p><p>“Are you sure?  Things would be—your job—”</p><p>“Is just a job.”  Eddie’s lips curve up as his nose brushes against Buck’s.  “Now are you going to give me an answer, or are you waiting for me to get on one knee?”    </p><p>Buck shoves at his shoulder, but slides his hand up into Eddie’s hair the next instant to finally kiss him.</p><p>“Yes,” he breathes.  “That’s not even—yes, of course.  Yes.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Frustration</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I have to get home,” Eddie breathes out in between kisses.  “Adriana’s leaving for a field assignment at five, I can’t leave Christopher alone—”</p>
<p>Buck blows out a frustrated breath and drops his head to Eddie’s shoulder.</p>
<p>“I know.  I know, I just—”</p>
<p>“Have meetings all morning and then you’re leaving for a week for the China summit,” Eddie sighs.  “Yeah.”</p>
<p>Buck turns his head to kiss Eddie’s neck.</p>
<p>“I’ll miss you.”</p>
<p>Eddie tips his head up, passes his thumb over Buck’s lower lip.</p>
<p>“It’s only a week.”</p>
<p>Buck shrugs.  “I always miss you.”</p>
<p>Eddie presses their foreheads together and finds Buck’s hands, lacing their fingers.  If he tries hard enough, he can imagine the weight of a ring again.</p>
<p>Soon.  Soon they won’t have to do this anymore—the back-and-forth, stolen moments.  Soon, they’ll all be in one place, be one family, rings and licenses and secret service details and all.</p>
<p>Not soon enough.</p>
<p>“I’ll miss you, too.”</p>
<p>Eddie kisses him until the alarm on his phone goes off again.</p>
  </div></div>
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